Device for opening cans



April 24, 1934. R. E. JONES DEVICE FOR OPENING CANS Filed July 14, 1932 mvzzvron, I 5y EJo/zes.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Apr. 24, 1934 rrss ATENT 2 Claims.

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as

amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) This invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to a device for removing govers from cans particularly of the friction cover One of theobjects of my invention is to provide a device of this character, including a lever whereby the cover for the can may be easily and quickly removed from the can without requiring any al teration in the normal construction thereof, and at the same time permitting the cover to be com pletely fitted on the can and thereby make it airtight.

Another object of my invention is to provide an opener for removing covers from cans of the friction cover type including a lever which is permanently connected to the cover by a flexible member to prevent loss of the lever and assuring it being ready for instant use, the flexible member having such length as to permit one end to be connected adjacent the rim of the cover and the other end thereof to be connected near one end of the lever, the free end of the lever being adapted to have an abutting pressure against the outer edge of the body of thecan, thereby providing an opener for removing covers from cans in which the maximum prying ability thereof may be employed for completely removing the cover by a tilting. movement of the opener or remove the cover by a direct action thereof.

' Another object of my invention is to provide a device including a lever for removing covers fromcans of the dished cover type which is so constructed as to adapt the device to extend .diametrically across the cover and lie wholly within the contour of the cover when not in use, thereby enabling the cans employing the device to be packed in the same space as formerly.

Still another and important object of my invention is to provide a device for removing covers from cans, which is simple and rugged in construction, efiicient in use, and which is not liable to get out of order.

Heretofore the opener used in removing covers from cans of the friction cover type were complicated and expensive to construct as compared to the present invention and when adapted to lie wholly within the contour of the cover when not in use, the prying ability thereof for removing the covers from the cans was limited.

It is therefore the aim and purpose of this invention to provide an opener for removing covers from cans of the friction cover type including a lever which is connected near one end thereof by one end of a flexible member, the other end of the flexible member being permanently connected to the cover close to the rim thereof, the flexible member being of such a length as to permit the free end of the lever to have an abutting pressure against the outer edge of the body of the can while the flexible member is connected close to the other end of the lever and to the cover near the rim thereof, thereby causing the maximum prying ability of the opener to be employed for removing the cover, the opener being simple in operation, efiicient in use, cheap to construct, and adapted to lie wholly within the contour of the cover when not in use.

With'the above and other objects and advantages in view the invention specifically consists in features of construction, arrangement and operation of parts which will hereinafter appear. For purposes of illustration the invention will be described and claimed with reference to the accompanying drawing in which like members distinguish like parts and in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of a can with my invention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary diametrical vertical sectional view through the cover of the can, illustrating my invention in operative position on the can ready to remove the cover;

Fig. 3 is a sectional detail view of a method which may be used in connecting the flexible member of my invention to the cover of the can;

Fig. 4 is another fragmentary diametrical vertical sectional view through the cover and the can, illustrating the operative position of my '90 invention for removing the cover by the direct action thereof;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the lever alone used in carrying out my invention, and

Fig. 6 is a perspective detail view, illustrating another modified method which may be used in connecting the flexible member of my invention to the cover of the can.

In the illustrated embodiment characterizing my invention 1 indicates a lever having a bifur- 'catedend portion 2 and an abutting end portion '3 which is connected to a cover 4 of a can 5 by means of a flexible member 6. The cover 4 is dished-shaped having the usual outwardly extending circumferential rim or flange '7 and a depression 8, the side walls 9 of which frictionally engage the rim or neck 10 of the can 5. V

The flexible member 6 is connected by one of its ends 11 to the cover 4 close to the side walls 9 thereof in any suitable manner such as by pro- '110 viding an aperture 12 in the cover and positioning the end 11 of the flexible member 6 therein and then soldering the end 11 to the cover 4 as indicated at 13 in Fig. 2 of the drawing. The flexible member 6 may be connected by the end 11 to the cover 4 near the rim thereof by means of a rivet 14 provided with washers 15 as illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawing. The rivet 14 is provided with an aperture 16 to which the end 11 of flexible member 6 may be connected. Another modiflcation of connecting the flexible member 6 to the cover 4 may be in the form of a bolt 17 and nut 18 provided with washers 19 as illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawing. A still further modification may be in the form of the flexible member 6 being spot welded as at 4' to the cover 4 as illustrated in Fig. 6 of the drawing. These connecting means must be sealed gas tight to the cover and may also be made by soldering the bolt and washer and rivet construction to the cover 4 or by the use of a gas tight composition or rubber washers in combination with metal washers not shown.

Adjacent the end 2 of the lever 1 is an aperture 20 for suitably connecting the end 21 of the flexible member 6 thereto, the other end 3 of the lever 1 may be provided with an aperture 22 for hanging the can 5 on a wall or the like.

The connecting means 6 may be in the form of any suitable flexible material such as a chain or cable, of such a length that the end 11 may be connected to the cover 4 close to the rim thereof while the other end 21 of the flexible member 6 is connected to the aperture 20 close to the end 2 of the lever 1, the outer or free end 3 of the lever being adapted to have an abutting pressure against the rim or neck 10 of the can 5, the flexible member 6 then being under tension, a tilting movement of the lever 1 will automatically remove the cover 4 from the top of the can 5. By this construction the maximum prying ability of the opener is obtained.

As an alternative method of removing the cover 4 by the use of the same lever 1 or when a direct action is desired, the end 2 of the lever 1 is bifurcated for forming the tines 23 which are so shaped to permit ready insertion thereof beneath the flange 7 of the cover as illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawing.

The lever 1 is made of a length which will adapt it to extend diametrically across the dished cover 4 and lie wholly within the contour of the cover 4 as illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawing when the opener is not in use thereby enabling the cans employing my device to be packed in the same space as formerly without the opener. In order to assure the lever 1 being held in place on the cover 4 suitable means such as spring clips 24 may be provided on the cover 4.

In the operation of my device the abutting end 3 of the lever 1 is placed in position on the rim or neck 10 of the can 5 and the bifurcated end 2 thereof is gripped by the hand and pulled outwardly in a tilting direction to cause the end 3 of the lever l to abut against the rim or neck 10 of the can .5 with sufiicient force to remove the cover 4 as illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawing. If a direct action of the lever 1 is desired the tines 23 of the bifurcated end 2 thereof is inserted beneath the flange 7 of the cover 4 to pry it off. When not in use the opener is adapted to be positioned within the cover 4 and lie wholly with the contour thereof and be held in place therein by means of the spring clips 24.

It will thus be seen that I have provided an opener for removing covers from cans of the friction cover type of such a construction and operation that the maximum amount of prying ability of the opener is obtained and in which the opener when not in use is adapted to be positioned within the contour of the cover of the can without taking up any more space than the cans would have taken if the device was not employed thereon, the opener being well adapted for all the purposes designated. Even though I have herein described my device as comprising certain struc tural elements, it nevertheless is to be understood that changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit or scope of my invention.

Having described my invention what I claim as new and wish to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A device of the character described wherein a pressed metal dished shaped cover for a can is provided with a remover therefor and wherein said remover is adapted to lie wholly within said cover and comprises a bar'mernber and a flexible member and wherein said flexible memher is secured to said bar member adjacent one end thereof and to said cover adjacent the rim thereof, said flexible member being adapted to be flexed to any position for placing said remover in an inoperative position within said cover or to place said remover in an operative position on said can, said bar member having sharpened tines on the end thereof connected to said flexible member, an abutting portion on the other end of said bar member for engaging a neck of said can to force said cover from the can by a tilting movement of said bar member and clip members provided on said cover for removably fastening said bar member thereto.

2. A device of the character described wherein a pressed metal dished shaped cover for a can is provided with a remover therefor and wherein said remover is adapted to lie wholly within said cover and comprises a bar member and a flexible member and wherein said flexible member is sei. l

cured to said bar member adjacent one end thereof and to said cover adjacent the rim thereof, said flexible member being adapted to be flexed to any position for placing said remover. in an inoperative position within said cover and to place tioned end of said bar member for hanging up u.

said cover.

RALPH E. JONES. 

